Editing Matt Ridley

{{short description|British journalist and businessman (born 1958)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
<!-- This article uses British English -->
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name             = The Viscount Ridley
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|DL|FRSL|FMedSci}}
| image            = official portrait of Viscount Ridley crop 2.jpg
| caption          = Ridley in 2018
| office1          = Member of the [[House of Lords]]
| status1          = Lord Temporal
| term_label1      = as an [[elected hereditary peer]]
| term_start1      = 8 February 2013
| term_end1        = 17 December 2021{{thin space|{{efn|Retired under Section 1 of the [[House of Lords Reform Act 2014]].}}}}
| predecessor1     = [[Robert Shirley, 13th Earl Ferrers|The 13th Earl Ferrers]]
| successor1       = [[Ian Macpherson, 3rd Baron Strathcarron|The 3rd Baron Strathcarron]]
| office2          = Chairman of [[Northern Rock]]
| term_start2      = April 2004
| term_end2        = October 2007
| predecessor2     = [[Sir John Riddell, 13th Baronet|Sir John Riddell]]
| successor2       = Bryan Sanderson
| birth_name       = Matthew White Ridley
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1958|2|7|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Northumberland]], England
| parents          = {{Plainlist}}
* [[Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley]]
* Lady Anne Katharine Gabrielle Lumley
{{Endplainlist}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|[[Anya Hurlbert]]|1989}}<ref name=whoswho/>
| children         = 2
| residence        = [[Blagdon Hall]], Northumberland
| blank1           = Employer
| data1            = {{Plainlist}}
* ''[[The Economist]]''
* [[Centre for Life]]
* [[Northern Rock]]
{{Endplainlist}}
| awards           = {{Plainlist}}
* [[Deputy Lieutenant]] of Northumberland (2007)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/About/Partners/Northumberland-lieutenancy.aspx |title=Northumberland Lord-Lieutenant |publisher=[[Northumberland County Council]] |access-date=2016-08-10}}</ref>
* [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature]] (1999)
* [[Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences]] (2004)<ref name=fmedsci>{{cite web |year=2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715102113/http://www.acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/dr-matthew-ridley/ |title=Dr Matthew Ridley FMedSci |website=[[Academy of Medical Sciences]] |archive-date=2016-07-15 |url=https://acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/fellow/Matthew-Ridley-0033z00002qIIaaAAG |quote=Specialities: interpreting genomics and conveying genetics to the public, especially how genes and environment interact}}</ref>
{{Endplainlist}}
| education        = [[Eton College]]
| alma_mater       = [[University of Oxford]] (BA, DPhil)<!--Magdalen College, Oxford does not award degrees-->
| occupation       = Journalist, businessman, politician
| party            = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| relatives        = [[Rose Paterson]] (sister)
| known_for        = {{Plainlist}}
* [[Northern Rock]]
* ''[[The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters]]'' (1999)
* ''[[The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves]]'' (2010)
* [[Northumberlandia]]
{{Endplainlist}}
| module           = {{Infobox scientist
| embed            = yes
| thesis_title     = Mating system of the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
| thesis_url       = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.348151
| thesis_year      = 1983
| doctoral_advisor = [[Chris Perrins]]<ref name=dphil/>
}}
| blank2           = Other titles
| data2            = 9th Baronet (of Blagdon)
| website          = {{Official URL}}
}}

'''Matthew White Ridley, 5th Viscount Ridley'''<!--He is a Sir as he is also a Baronet --> (born 7 February 1958<ref name=fmedsci/><ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who |title=Ridley, 5th Viscount |id=U59818 |volume=2007 |edition=online [[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>), is a British science writer, journalist and businessman. He is known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Real Clear Science |date=2013 |url=http://www.realclearscience.com/journal_club/2013/08/08/the_worlds_top_thought_leaders_106624.html |title=World's top thought leaders}}</ref> and has been a regular contributor to ''[[The Times]]'' newspaper. Ridley was chairman of the UK bank [[Northern Rock]] from 2004 to 2007, during which period it experienced the first [[Bank run|run]] on a British bank in 130 years. He resigned, and the bank was bailed out by the UK government; this led to its [[Nationalisation of Northern Rock|nationalisation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-10-19 |title=Ridley quits as Northern Rock chairman |url=http://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/oct/20/5 |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

Ridley is a [[libertarian]],<ref name="Monbiot">{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 October 2007 |access-date=23 October 2007 |title=Governments aren't perfect, but it's the libertarians who bleed us dry |last=Monbiot |first=George |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/story/0,,2197247,00.html |location=London}}</ref> and a staunch supporter of [[Brexit]].<ref>''[[The Times]]'', January 2017 [https://www.thetimes.com/article/brexit-will-boost-our-green-and-pleasant-land-7mgmkjbkl]</ref> He inherited the viscountcy in February 2012 and was a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[hereditary peer]] from February 2013, with an elected seat in the [[House of Lords]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Northern Rock chairman Ridley joins Lords |date=6 February 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21358553 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Viscount Ridley: Spoken material by date |publisher=Parliamentary Business |date=2013 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldhansrd/ldallfiles/peers/lord_hansard_371_od.html}}</ref><ref name=FisherRidley2013/> until his retirement in December 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/4272/career |title=Viscount Ridley |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= |publisher=[[UK Parliament]] |access-date=18 December 2021 |quote=}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Ridley's parents were [[Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley]] (1925–2012), and Lady Anne Katharine Gabrielle Lumley (1928–2006), the daughter of [[Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough]].<ref name="FatherObit">{{cite news |title=Obituary: Viscount Ridley |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/9165965/Viscount-Ridley.html |website=The Telegraph |access-date=5 October 2020 |date=25 March 2012}}</ref> He is the nephew of the late Conservative [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) and minister [[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Jonathan |title=Northern Rock chief admits to 'catastrophic black mark' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/7969974/Northern-Rock-chief-admits-to-catastrophic-black-mark.html |website=The Telegraph |access-date=24 September 2019 |date=28 August 2010}}</ref> and the great grandson of [[Edwin Lutyens]].<ref name="FatherObit"/>

Ridley attended [[Eton College]] from 1970 to 1975, and then went on to [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], to study zoology.<ref name=whoswho/> Obtaining a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] degree with [[first class honours]], Ridley continued with research on the [[mating system]] of the [[Pheasant|common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus'')]] supervised by [[Chris Perrins]] for his [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree in 1983.<ref name=dphil>{{cite thesis |degree=DPhil |publisher=University of Oxford |title=Mating system of the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) |first=Matthew White |last=Ridley |date=1983 |url=http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph013858922 |oclc=52225811 }}</ref>

==Career==

===Journalism===
Ridley joined ''[[The Economist]]'' in 1984, first working as a science editor until 1987, then as [[Washington, D.C.]], correspondent from 1987 to 1989 and as American editor from 1990 to 1992.<ref>''Debrett's People of Today 2007'', p. 1406.</ref><ref name="matt-cv">{{cite web |last=Ridley |first=Matt |title=Matt Ridley's C.V. |url=http://www.mattridley.co.uk/index.html |access-date=4 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706164710/http://www.mattridley.co.uk/index.html |archive-date=6 July 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He was a columnist for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'' and an editor of ''The Best American Science Writing 2002''.<ref name="CSHLbio">{{cite web |url=http://library.cshl.edu/oralhistory/speaker/matt-ridley/ |title=Matt Ridley – Biography |work=CSH Oral History Collection |publisher=[[Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory]] |date=2012 |access-date=2015-10-31}}</ref>

From 2010 to 2013, Ridley wrote the weekly "Mind and Matter" column for ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', which "explores the science of human nature and its implications".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-lifestyle-arts-entertainment.html |title=Mind and Matter column |publisher=Online.wsj.com |access-date=6 December 2012}}</ref>

Since 2013, Ridley has written a weekly column for ''[[The Times]]'' on science, the environment, and economics.<ref name=FisherRidley2013>{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=S. E. |author-link1=Simon Fisher |last2=Ridley |first2=M. |title=Culture, Genes, and the Human Revolution |journal=Science |volume=340 |issue=6135 |year=2013 |pages=929–30 |pmid=23704558 |doi=10.1126/science.1236171 |bibcode=2013Sci...340..929F|s2cid=39849683 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Matt-Ridley |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620085657/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/profile/Matt-Ridley |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 June 2013 |title=Matt Ridley |department=Times Journalist |work=[[The Times]] |access-date=2015-10-31}}</ref>

Ridley wrote the majority of the main article of the August 2017 edition of ''[[BBC Focus]]'' magazine.<ref>{{ISSN|0966-4270}}, #311</ref> The article explains his scepticism regarding [[resource depletion]], challenging the widespread belief that resource depletion is an important issue. He cites various previous resource scares as his evidence.

===Northern Rock, 1994–2007===
In 1994, Ridley became a board member of the UK bank [[Northern Rock]]. His father had been a board member for 30 years, and chairman from 1987 to 1992. Ridley became chairman in 2004.<ref>''The Times'', 19 September 2007 [https://web.archive.org/web/20110612054821/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article2485366.ece Northern Rock chairman gives chief full backing]</ref>

In September 2007, Northern Rock became the first British bank since 1878 to suffer a run on its finances, at the start of the [[2008 financial crisis]]. The bank applied to the [[Bank of England]] for emergency liquidity funding at the beginning of the crisis,<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 September 2007 |access-date=12 March 2010 |title=Credit Crisis Hits Lender in Britain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/worldbusiness/15mortgage.html?_r=1&ref=business |first=Eric |last=Pfanner}}</ref> but failed, and [[nationalisation of Northern Rock|Northern Rock was nationalised]]. Ridley resigned as chairman in October 2007.<ref name=whoswho/><ref name="International Herald Tribune">{{cite news |date=19 October 2007 |title=Northern Rock chairman quits after criticism from lawmakers |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/19/business/rock.php |access-date=17 February 2008}}</ref> A parliamentary committee criticised him for not recognising the risks of the bank's financial strategy and "harming the reputation of the [[British banking industry]]".<ref name="International Herald Tribune"/>

===Business===
From 1996 to 2003, Ridley served as founding chairman of the [[International Centre for Life]], which opened in 2000 as a non-profit [[science centre]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]]; and is now its honorary life president.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.life.org.uk/about/staff |title=staff |publisher=International Centre for Life |date=n.d. |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160710235814/http://www.life.org.uk/about/staff |archive-date=10 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> From July 2000 to June 2008, he was a non-executive director of PA Holdings Limited, with [[Victor Halberstadt]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.directorstats.co.uk/director/victor-halberstadt/ |title=Professor Victor Halberstadt, Professor of Economics from London; |publisher=Director stats |work=Director list |date=n.d. |access-date=3 August 2016 |quote=Coworker Doctor Matthew White Ridley-Writer/Businessman July 1, 2000 to June 6, 2008}}</ref>

Until 2010, he was a governor of the [[Ditchley Foundation]], which organises conferences to further education and understanding of Britons and North Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ditchley.co.uk/page/64/the-governors.htm |title=The Ditchley Foundation: The Governors |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926002401/http://www.ditchley.co.uk/page/64/the-governors.htm |archive-date=26 September 2006}}</ref> He participated in a February 2000 Ditchley conference.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ditchley.co.uk/conferences/past-programme/2000-2009/2000/fisheries |title=Fisheries: managing international common resources |publisher=[[Ditchley Foundation]] |date=11–13 February 2000}}</ref>

Ridley serves on the Executive Advisory Board of the [[World.minds|World.Minds]] Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Team – WORLD.MINDS |url=https://www.worldminds.org/team/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |language=en}}</ref>

==Patronage==
The [[Banks Group]] and Blagdon estate developed and sponsored the construction of [[Northumberlandia]], or the Lady of the North, a land sculpture in the shape of a reclining female figure, which was part-commissioned and sponsored by Ridley.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Northumberlandia |url=http://www.northumberlandia.com/ |title=Northumberlandia}}</ref> Now run by a charity group called the Land Trust,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Matt Ridley |url=http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/what-northumberlandia-is-all-about-(1).aspx |title=Northumberlandia: What it's all about}}</ref> it is the largest landform in the world depicting the human form, and, through private funding, cost £3m to build.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=2013 |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article3525058.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711174517/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article3525058.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 July 2013 |title=Northumberlandia's no angel, but she's my Lady of the North}}</ref> Attracting over 100,000 people per year, the Northumberland art project, tourism and cultural landmark has won a global landscape architecture award, and has been named 'Miss World'.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=The Journal |date=2013 |url=http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberlandia-named-miss-world-global-6393465 |title=Northumberlandia named 'Miss World' in global competition |access-date=16 December 2013 |archive-date=1 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601143242/http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberlandia-named-miss-world-global-6393465 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Royal Agricultural Society of England]] awarded the Bledisloe Gold Medal in 2015 to Ridley for the work done on his Blagdon estate, saying that it "wanted to highlight the extensive environmental improvement work that has been undertaken across the land".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberlands-blagdon-estate-landowner-wins-9699123 |title=Northumberland's Blagdon Estate landowner wins prestigious national award |newspaper=Chronicle Live |access-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>

==Publications==
Ridley has written a number of [[popular science]] books, listed below.

''[[The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature]]'', 1993

: In [[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'', Alice meets the Red Queen who stays in the same place no matter how fast she runs. This book champions a [[Red Queen's Hypothesis|Red Queen]] theory for the evolution of [[sexual reproduction]]: that it evolved so that the resultant genetic variation would thwart constantly mutating [[parasite]]s.

''[[The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation]]'', 1996

''[[Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters]]'', 1999

: This book examines one newly discovered gene from each of the 23 [[human chromosomes]]. It was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2000.<ref>The Samuel Johnson Prize http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/sjnav/books/2</ref>

''[[Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, & What Makes Us Human]]'', 2003 (also later released under the title ''The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture'' in 2004)

: This book discusses reasons why humans can be considered to be simultaneously free-willed and motivated by instinct and culture.

''The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture'', 2004

''Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code'', 2006

: Ridley's biography of [[Francis Crick]] won the Davis Prize for the history of science from the US [[History of Science Society]].

''[[The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves]]'', 2010

: ''The Rational Optimist'' primarily focuses on the benefits of the innate human tendency to trade goods and services. Ridley argues that this trait is the source of human prosperity, and that as people increasingly specialize in their skill sets, we will have increased trade and even more prosperity.<ref>{{cite news|title=Getting better all the time|url=http://www.economist.com/node/16103826|date=13 May 2010|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> It was shortlisted for the 2011 [[BBC Samuel Johnson Prize]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/pages/news/index.asp?NewsID=30 |title=2011 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize For Non-fiction Shortlist announced |publisher=Samuel Johnson Prize |date=14 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628002639/http://www.thesamueljohnsonprize.co.uk/pages/news/index.asp?NewsID=30 |archive-date=28 June 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

''The Evolution of Everything: How Ideas Emerge'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theevolutionofeverything.co.uk/|title=Evolution of Everything Book by Matt Ridley |website=theevolutionofeverything.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/16/the-evolution-of-everything-matt-ridley-review |title=The Evolution of Everything by Matt Ridley review – the rightwing libertarian gets it wrong |first=John |last=Gray |date=16 September 2015 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/matt-ridley/the-evolution-of-everything/ |title=The Evolution of Everything by Matt Ridley – Kirkus Reviews |via=kirkusreviews.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bookpage.com/reviews/19022-matt-ridley-evolution-everything-nonfiction |title=The Evolution of Everything by Matt Ridley – Review – BookPage |website=BookPage.com |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528075142/https://bookpage.com/reviews/19022-matt-ridley-evolution-everything-nonfiction |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-evolution-of-everything-how-new-ideas-emerge-by-matt-ridley-book-review-10505732.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920231636/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-evolution-of-everything-how-new-ideas-emerge-by-matt-ridley-book-review-10505732.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 September 2015 |title=The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge by Matt Ridley, book |date=19 September 2015 |website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> 2015

: In ''The Evolution of Everything'', Ridley "makes the case for evolution, rather than design, as the force that has shaped much of culture, technology and society, and that even now is shaping our future." He argues that "Change in technology, language, mortality and society is incremental, inexorable, gradual and spontaneous...Much of the human world is the result of human action, but not of human design; it emerges from the interactions of millions, not from the plans of a few."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theevolutionofeverything.co.uk | title= Evolution of Everything Book by Matt Ridley}}</ref> The science writer Peter Forbes, writing in ''[[The Independent]]'', describes the book as "Ridley's [[magnum opus]], ... decades in the making." Forbes states that Ridley was inspired by the Roman poet [[Lucretius]]'s long work on "atheistical atomism", ''[[De rerum natura]]'', whose "arguments seem uncannily modern: like those of a Richard Dawkins 2000 years avant la lettre." Forbes found the chapter on technology to be "utterly convincing", the most satisfying in the book. But he finds the "sustained polemic on behalf of libertarian anti-State ideas not a million miles from those of the US Republican Tea Party." Forbes calls Ridley "a heretic on most counts", stating that the book has many excesses. All the same, he considers the book necessary reading.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Forbes |first1=Peter |title=The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge by Matt Ridley, book review |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-evolution-of-everything-how-new-ideas-emerge-by-matt-ridley-book-review-10505732.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-evolution-of-everything-how-new-ideas-emerge-by-matt-ridley-book-review-10505732.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Independent |date=18 September 2015}}</ref>

''How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom'', 2020

: This book argues that innovation is a disorganized, bottom-up process that emerges through the aggregate work of many low-level individuals, rather than the work of solitary geniuses at the top. Moreover, innovation is poorly understood by economists, and it is often impeded by politicians. Ridley makes his case by examining historical examples, rather than appealing solely to abstract principles.

''[[Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19]]''

:Written jointly with [[Alina Chan]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Bayley |first=Sian |date=11 June 2021 |title=Fourth Estate to publish book on how coronavirus outbreak started in Wuhan |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/4th-estate-publish-book-how-coronavirus-outbreak-started-wuhan-1262509 |work=[[The Bookseller]] |access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Varadarajan |first=Tunku |date=23 July 2021 |title=How Science Lost the Public's Trust |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-china-media-lab-leak-climate-ridley-biden-censorship-coronavirus-11627049477 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref> it was published in November 2021.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Poole |first=Steven |date=9 November 2021 |title=Viral by Alina Chan and Matt Ridley review: pushes the lab-leak theory behind Covid too hard |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/viral-alina-chan-matt-ridley-review-pushes-lab-leak-theory-behind/ |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location= |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Honigsbaum |first=Mark |date=15 November 2021 |title=Viral by Alina Chan and Matt Ridley review – was Covid-19 really made in China? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/15/viral-by-alina-chan-and-matt-ridley-review-was-covid-19-really-made-in-china |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Chivers |first=Tom |date=15 November 2021 |title=Viral by Alina Chan and Matt Ridley review – Did Covid-19 leak from a Chinese lab? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/viral-by-alina-chan-and-matt-ridley-review-did-covid-19-leak-from-a-chinese-lab-s7hqgkdmf |work=[[The Times]] |location= |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>

''Birds, Sex and Beauty: The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Birthdays Today |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/bdays-feb7-t73mrtrh9 |access-date=8 February 2025 |work=[[The Times]] |date=7 February 2025}}</ref> 2025

Ridley's first book was ''Warts and All: The Men Who Would Be Bush'' (1989), which chronicled the evolution of [[George H. W. Bush]]'s public image during the [[1988 United States presidential election]]. Ridley has since described his first book as "bad" and has expressed gratitude that few people know about it.<ref>Science Salon Podcast #117: Michael Shermer with Matt Ridley – How Innovation Works: and Why It Flourishes in Freedom. May 26, 2020. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A_zzJKDXdI>.</ref> He no longer promotes the book on his personal website.<ref>"Books by author Matt Ridley." Bibliography on Ridley's personal website. Accessed June 20, 2020. http://www.mattridley.co.uk/books/</ref>

In 2006, Ridley contributed a chapter to ''[[Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think]]'', a collection of essays in honour of his friend [[Richard Dawkins]].

Ridley's 2010 [[TED conference]] talk, "When Ideas Have Sex", received over 2 million views.<ref>{{cite web| publisher = TedGlobal| date = 2010| url = http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_ridley_when_ideas_have_sex.html| title = When ideas have sex| access-date = 15 July 2010| archive-date = 27 February 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140227025311/http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_ridley_when_ideas_have_sex.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> Ridley argues that exchange and specialisation are the features of human society that lead to the development of new ideas, and that human society is therefore a "collective brain".<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=2010-07-21| url= https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-07/21/ideas-having-sex-matt-ridley-steven-berlin-johnson | title= Matt Ridley observes "ideas having sex"}}</ref>

==Political and scientific views==
[[File:Matt Ridley by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg|thumb]]

===Role of government regulation===
In a 2006 edition of the online magazine ''[[Edge – the third culture]]'', Ridley wrote a response to the question "What's your dangerous idea?" which was entitled "Government is the problem not the solution",<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[The Edge]] |date=1 January 2006 |access-date=1 March 2008 |title=What's your dangerous idea? Matt Ridley "Government is the problem not the solution" |url=http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_11.html#ridley |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201015534/http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_11.html#ridley |archive-date=1 February 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> in which he describes his attitude to government regulation: "In every age and at every time there have been people who say we need more regulation, more government. Sometimes, they say we need it to protect exchange from corruption, to set the standards and police the rules, in which case they have a point, though often they exaggerate it... The dangerous idea we all need to learn is that the more we limit the growth of government, the better off we will all be."

In 2007, the environmentalist [[George Monbiot]] wrote an article in ''[[The Guardian]]'' connecting Ridley's libertarian economic philosophy and the £27 billion failure of Northern Rock.<ref name="Monbiot"/> On 1 June 2010 Monbiot followed up his previous article in the context of Matt Ridley's book ''The Rational Optimist'', which had just been published. Monbiot took the view that Ridley had failed to learn from the collapse of Northern Rock.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 June 2010 |access-date=7 June 2010 |title=The Man Who Wants to Northern Rock the Planet |last=Monbiot |first=George |url=http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/06/01/the-man-who-wants-to-northern-rock-the-planet/}}</ref>

Ridley has responded to Monbiot on his website, stating "George Monbiot's recent attack on me in the ''Guardian'' is misleading. I do not hate the state. In fact, my views are much more balanced than Monbiot's selective quotations imply."<ref>{{cite web |publisher=The Rational Optimist |last=Ridley |first=Matt |date=7 June 2010 |access-date=7 June 2010 |title=Monbiot's errors |url=http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/monbiots-errors}}</ref> On 19 June 2010, Monbiot countered with another article on the ''Guardian'' website, further questioning Ridley's claims and his response.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[George Monbiot]] |last=Monbiot |first=George |date=19 June 2010 |access-date=19 June 2010 |title=Ridleyed With Errors |url=http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/06/19/ridleyed-with-errors/}}</ref> Ridley was then defended by [[Terence Kealey]] in a further article published on the ''Guardian'' website.<ref>{{cite news |title=The state is crowding out successful market mechanisms |newspaper=The Guardian |date=31 October 2007 |access-date=31 October 2007 |last=Kealey |first=Terence |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/oct/31/comment.business}}</ref>

In November 2010, ''The Wall Street Journal'' published a lengthy exchange between Ridley and the [[Microsoft]] founder [[Bill Gates]] on topics discussed in Ridley's book ''The Rational Optimist''.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=26 November 2010 |access-date=13 April 2011 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704648604575621122887824544 |title=Africa Needs Growth, Not Pity and Big Plans |last=Ridley |first=Matt}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=26 November 2010 |access-date=13 April 2011 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704243904575630761699028330 |title=Africa Needs Aid, Not Flawed Theories |last=Gates |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Gates}}</ref> Gates said that "What Mr. Ridley fails to see is that worrying about the worst case—being pessimistic, to a degree—can actually help to drive a solution"; Ridley said "I am certainly not saying, 'Don't worry, be happy.' Rather, I'm saying, 'Don't despair, be ambitious.'"

Ridley summarised his own views on his political philosophy during the 2011 [[Hayek Lecture]]: "[T]hat the individual is not – and had not been for 120,000 years – able to support his lifestyle; that the key feature of trade is that it enables us to work for each other not just for ourselves; that there is nothing so anti-social (or impoverishing) as the pursuit of self sufficiency; and that authoritarian, top-down rule is not the source of order or progress."<ref>{{cite web |publisher=The Manhattan Institute |title=Matt Ridley 2011 Hayek lecture |url=http://www.manhattan-institute.org/video/index.htm?c=092611MI |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128113334/http://www.manhattan-institute.org/video/index.htm?c=092611MI |archive-date=28 January 2012}}</ref>

In an email exchange, Ridley responded to the environmental activist [[Mark Lynas]]' repeated charges of a right-wing agenda with the following reply:

{{Blockquote|On the topic of labels, you repeatedly call me a member of "the right". Again, on what grounds? I am not a reactionary in the sense of not wanting social change: I make this abundantly clear throughout my book. I am not a hierarchy lover in the sense of trusting the central authority of the state: quite the opposite. I am not a conservative who defends large monopolies, public or private: I celebrate the way competition causes creative destruction that benefits the consumer against the interest of entrenched producers. I do not preach what the rich want to hear—the rich want to hear the gospel of Monbiot, that technological change is bad, that the hoi polloi should stop clogging up airports, that expensive home-grown organic food is the way to go, that big business and big civil service should be in charge. So in what sense am I on the right? I am a social and economic liberal: I believe that economic liberty leads to greater opportunities for the poor to become less poor, which is why I am in favour of it. Market liberalism and social liberalism go hand in hand in my view.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Mark Lynas |title=Debate with Matt Ridley on ocean acidification |url=http://www.marklynas.org/2011/07/debate-with-matt-ridley-on-ocean-acidification/}}</ref>}}

Ridley argues that the capacity of humans for change and social progress is underestimated, and denies what he sees as overly pessimistic views of global [[climate change]]<ref>{{cite web |publisher=thersa.org |date=31 October 2011 |title=Angus Millar Lecture 2011 – Scientific Heresy |url=http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/angus-millar-lecture-2011-scientific-heresy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119091109/http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/angus-millar-lecture-2011-scientific-heresy |archive-date=19 January 2012}}</ref> and [[Western birthrate decline]].

===Climate change===
{{expand section|date=November 2020}}<!-- what actually is Ridley's view? it is not summarized in the section at all. Only says he wrote something that was criticized by Sachs; and of the spat, but not the content of his views; 2nd para connects the criticism to coal, but no clarity on the Ridley position -->
In 2014, the ''Wall Street Journal'' [[op-ed]] written by Ridley, "Whatever Happened to Global Warming?" suggesting that climate scientists' explanations were implausible, was challenged by [[Jeffrey Sachs]] of [[Columbia University]]'s Earth Institute. Sachs termed "absurd" Ridley's characterization of a paper in ''Science'' magazine by the two scientists Xianyao Chen and [[Ka-Kit Tung]]. Sachs challenged Ridley's contentions, and claimed that the "paper's conclusions are the very opposite of Ridley's".<ref>Sachs, Jeffrey, [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-wall-street-journal-p_b_5776558.html "The Wall Street Journal Parade of Climate Lies"], ''Huffington Post'', 09/06/2014. Sachs' article links to Ridley's [https://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/matt-ridley-whatever-happened-to-global-warming-1409872855-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNTEwNDUyWj "Whatever Happened to Global Warming?" (subscription required)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021033328/http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/matt-ridley-whatever-happened-to-global-warming-1409872855-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNTEwNDUyWj |date=21 October 2014 }}, ''The Wall Street Journal'', 4 September 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-07.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mattridley.co.uk/blog/whatever-happened-to-global-warming.aspx |title=Whatever happened to global warming? |last=Ridley |first=Matt |work=Matt Ridley Online |date=2014-09-07 |access-date=2014-09-14}}</ref> Ridley replied that 'it is ludicrous, nasty and false to accuse me of lying or "totally misrepresenting the science." I have asked Mr. Sachs to withdraw the charges more than once now on Twitter. He has refused to do so ....'<ref>[https://online.wsj.com/articles/matt-ridley-replies-to-his-climate-change-critics-1410271012 "Jeffrey Sachs blows a gasket, and our contributor cleans up the intellectual mess"], ''online.wsj.com'', 9 September 2014. Ridley quotes a tweet by Sachs: "Ridley climate ignorance in WSJ today is part of compulsive lying of Murdoch media gang. Ridley totally misrepresents the science," at [http://www.mattridley.co.uk/blog/whatever-happened-to-global-warming.aspx Ridley's weblog]</ref>

[[Friends of the Earth]] has connected Ridley's [[opposition to climate science]] to his ties to the [[coal industry]]. He is the owner of land in the north-east of England on which the [[Shotton Surface Mine|Shotton Surface]] [[coal mine]] operates, and receives payments for the mine. In 2016 he was accused of [[lobbying]] for the coal industry, based on an email he had authored to the UK government's energy minister describing a Texas-based company which planned to sequester carbon into materials useful for industrial chemical manufacturing. The complaint was summarily dismissed by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/15/matt-ridley-accused-of-lobbying-uk-government-on-behalf-of-coal-industry Matt Ridley accused of lobbying UK government on behalf of coal industry]. ''The Guardian'', 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.</ref>

===Shale gas and fracking===
Ridley was one of the earliest commentators to spot the economic significance of [[shale gas]]. He is a proponent of [[fracking]].<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Rational Optimist |date=16 August 2013 |access-date=26 January 2015 |url=http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/the-five-myths-about-fracking-%281%29.aspx |title=The five myths about fracking}}</ref> However, he has been found to have breached the Parliamentary Code of Conduct by the [[House of Lords Commissioner for Standards]] for not orally disclosing in debates on the subject personal interests worth at least £50,000 in [[Weir Group]],<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[House of Lords Commissioner for Standards]] |date=23 January 2014 |access-date=26 January 2015 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldselect/ldprivi/119/11903.htm |title=The Conduct of Viscount Ridley}}</ref> which has been described as "the world's largest provider of special equipment used in the process" of [[fracking]].<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |date=14 December 2012 |access-date=26 January 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-20725887 |title=Fracking: Weir Group boss says Scotland 'well placed'}}</ref>

===Euroscepticism===
Ridley is a [[Eurosceptic]] and advocated the withdrawal ([[Brexit]]) of the UK from the [[European Union]] during the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum]].<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714194648/http://scientistsforbritain.uk/wordpress/?p=218 |archive-date=2016-07-14 |url=http://scientistsforbritain.uk/wordpress/?p=218 |title=Matt Ridley: The Scientific Case for Brexit |first=Chris |last=Leigh |year=2016 |website=scientistsforbritain.uk}}</ref> He appeared in ''[[Brexit: The Movie]]'', arguing for Britain to return to the policy of [[free trade]] that distinguished it after 1845 until the 1930s.<ref>{{YouTube|id=UTMxfAkxfQ0|title=Brexit The Movie (full film)}}</ref>

===Free-market anticapitalism===
Ridley wrote a 2017 column making the case for free-market anticapitalism. He makes the case that it is misleading to refer to 'capitalism' and 'markets' as the same thing because "commerce, enterprise and markets are – to me – the very opposite of corporatism and even of 'capitalism', if by that word you mean capital-intensive organisations with monopolistic ambitions. Markets and innovation are the creative-destructive forces that undermine, challenge and reshape corporations and public bureaucracies on behalf of consumers. So big business is just as much the enemy as big government, and big business in hock to big government is sometimes the worst of all."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://capx.co/the-case-for-free-market-anticapitalism/|title=The case for free-market anticapitalism|date=12 July 2017|access-date=23 November 2020|work=CapX}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/2017/07/13/matt-ridley-the-case-for-free-market-ant/|title=Matt Ridley's 'Case for Free-Market Anticapitalism'|date=13 July 2017|access-date=24 November 2020|work=Reason Magazine}}</ref>

===COVID-19===
Ridley wrote in May 2020 that "research into the origins of the new coronavirus raises questions about how it became so infectious in human beings" and included as one possibility "perhaps laboratories".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ridley |first1=Matt |title=So where did the virus come from? |publisher=Wall Street Journal |date=29 May 2020}}</ref> His 2021 book ''[[Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19]]'' written with [[Alina Chan]], which received mixed reviews, ascribes the most likely proximate origin of the virus to the [[COVID-19 lab leak theory]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

==Honours, awards and titles==
In 1996, he was a visiting professor at [[Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory]] in New York,<ref name="CSHLbio"/> and in 2006 was awarded an honorary [[DSc]] degree.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cshl.edu/news-a-features/watson-school-of-biological-sciences-commencement-scheduled-for-april-30-2006.html |title=CSHL Watson School of Biological Sciences Commencement Scheduled for April 30, 2006 &#124; News & Features |access-date=2017-01-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131195411/http://www.cshl.edu/news-a-features/watson-school-of-biological-sciences-commencement-scheduled-for-april-30-2006.html |archive-date=31 January 2017}}</ref>

In 2003, he received an honorary [[DSc]] degree from Buckingham University<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates/2003 |title=Honorary Graduates 2003 – University of Buckingham }}</ref> and in 2007, an honorary [[Doctor of Civil Law|DCL]] degree from Newcastle University.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncl.ac.uk/congregations/ceremonies/honorary/current_hongrad.php |title=Current Honorary Graduates |publisher=Newcastle University |access-date=2016-12-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310181031/http://www.ncl.ac.uk/congregations/ceremonies/honorary/current_hongrad.php |archive-date=10 March 2008}}</ref>

In 2004, he was elected a [[Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences]] (FMedSci) for "major contributions to public engagement with the biological sciences".<ref name=fmedsci/><ref>{{cite web |title=Richard Dawkins in conversation with Matt Ridley |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/events/2021/richard-dawkins-in-conversation.html |website=www.penguin.co.uk |access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref>

In 2011, the [[Manhattan Institute]] awarded Ridley its $50,000 Hayek Prize for his book ''The Rational Optimist''. In his acceptance speech, Ridley said: "As Hayek understood, it is human collaboration that is necessary for society to work... the key feature of trade is that it enables us to work for each other not just for ourselves; that attempts at self-sufficiency are the true form of selfishness as well as the quick road to poverty; and that authoritarian, top-down rule is not the source of order or progress."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.manhattan-institute.org/video/index.htm?c=092611MI |title=Hayek Lecture 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128113334/http://www.manhattan-institute.org/video/index.htm?c=092611MI |archive-date=28 January 2012}}</ref> In 2011, Ridley gave the Angus Millar Lecture on "scientific heresy" at the [[Royal Society of Arts]] (RSA).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/angus-millar-lecture-2011-scientific-heresy |title=Angus Millar Lecture 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119091109/http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/angus-millar-lecture-2011-scientific-heresy |archive-date=19 January 2012}}</ref>

In 2012, on the death of his father, Ridley became the 5th Viscount Ridley and Baron Wensleydale.<ref name="whoswho" /> He is also the 9th Baronet Ridley.<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Roll of the Baronetage |url=http://www.baronetage.org/official-roll-of-the-baronets/ |publisher=[[Standing Council of the Baronetage]] |access-date=3 February 2016 |quote=Sir Matthew White Ridley, 9th Baronet; 5th Viscount Ridley. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306051137/http://www.baronetage.org/official-roll-of-the-baronets/ |archive-date=6 March 2015}}</ref> In 2013, he was elected as a [[hereditary peer]] to membership in the House of Lords, as a member of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2013/Conservative-Hereditary-Peers-by-election-result-Earl-Ferrers.pdf |title=Conservative Hereditary Peers' By-election, February 2013: Result |access-date=6 February 2013 |last=Beamish |first=David |date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

In 2013, he was elected a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]],<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] |title=2012 Fellows |url=http://www.amacad.org/news/alphalist2012.pdf |access-date=18 May 2012 |archive-date=22 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522142114/http://www.amacad.org/news/alphalist2012.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and won the [[Julian L. Simon]] award in March 2012.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Julian L. Simon Memorial Award |title=Past Winners |date=21 September 2021 |url=http://cei.org/julian-l-simon-memorial-award}}</ref> In 2014, he won the free enterprise award from the [[Institute of Economic Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Institute of Economic Affairs]] |date=2014-07-22 |url=http://www.iea.org.uk/in-the-media/press-release/matt-ridley-wins-iea-free-enterprise-award |title=Matt Ridley wins IEA Free Enterprise Award}}</ref>

===Arms===
As [[Viscount Ridley]], Ridley bears arms [[blazoned]] as ''Gules on a Chevron Argent between three Falcons proper, as many Pellets''.<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2019 |title=Peerage and Baronetage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99tHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA4132 |location= |publisher=[[Debrett's]] |page= |isbn=978-1999767006}}</ref>

==Personal life==
When his father died in 2012, Ridley succeeded him as the 5th [[Viscount Ridley]], having taken over the running of the family estate of [[Blagdon Hall]], near [[Stannington, Northumberland]], some years before.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

In 1989, Ridley married [[Anya Hurlbert]], a Professor of Neuroscience at [[Newcastle University]]; they live in northern England and have a son and a daughter.<ref name=whoswho/><ref name="matt-cv" />

In 1980, his sister [[Rose Paterson|Rose]] married the British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician [[Owen Paterson]], who held the posts of [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]] and [[Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] until July 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/owen-paterson-his-sceptic-brotherinlaw-and-how-defra-went-cold-on-climate-change-8973946.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/owen-paterson-his-sceptic-brotherinlaw-and-how-defra-went-cold-on-climate-change-8973946.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Owen Paterson, his sceptic brother-in-law, and how Defra went cold on climate change |website=[[The Independent]] |date=29 November 2013}}</ref> During this time Ridley was described as 'in many ways Paterson's personal think tank'.<ref>[http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2013/06/owen-paterson-more-than-meets-the-two-criteria-for-a-good-cabinet-minister.html Owen Paterson more than meets the two criteria for a good Cabinet minister] June 2013, The Conservative Home.</ref>

In 2015, Ridley's team won the celebrity Christmas special<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvHsOUjNknw| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/AvHsOUjNknw| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=University Challenge Christmas 2015 E10 The Grand Final|last=scum|date=1 January 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> of [[University Challenge]] representing [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], the year after the team of his son, also Matthew,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Proctor |first1=Kate |title=From pub quizzes to University Challenge |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/From+pub+quizzes+to+University+Challenge.-a0364066559 |access-date=3 August 2023 |work=[[The Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne newspaper)|The Journal]] |date=7 April 2014}}</ref> had won the student version<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKu4gJUS8oQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/dKu4gJUS8oQ| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=University Challenge S43E37 Final|last=scum|date=7 April 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> representing [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.mattridley.co.uk/ Personal webpage]
* [http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog Matt Ridley's blog]
* [http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/viscount-ridley/4272 The Viscount Ridley] on parliament.uk
* [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtreasy/56/7101601.htm Treasury – Minutes of Evidence: Examination of Witnesses: Dr Matt Ridley, Chairman, Northern Rock]
* [http://www.renegademedia.info/media/radio-mp3/Matt_Ridley.mp3 Ridley interviewed for Massive Change Radio in January 2004]
* [http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/ridley.html Biography page on Edge.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113045605/https://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/ridley.html |date=13 January 2019 }}
* {{C-SPAN|4158}}
* Matt Ridley, "[https://www.theguardian.com/life/opinion/story/0,12981,928170,00.html We've never had it so good – and it's all thanks to science]," ''[[The Guardian]]'', 3 April 2003
* Matt Ridley, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20090201015534/http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_11.html#ridley What's your dangerous idea?]", ''[[The Edge]]'' On-line magazine 2006
* Matt Ridley, [http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/02/darwin-legacy/ridley-text "Darwin's Legacy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314131638/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/02/darwin-legacy/ridley-text |date=14 March 2018 }}, ''[[National Geographic]]'', February 2009.
* Matt Ridley, [http://vimeo.com/7536594 "Putting Darwin in Genes"], Thinking Digital, May 2009.
* Matt Ridley, [http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_ridley_when_ideas_have_sex.html 'When Ideas Have Sex'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227025311/http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_ridley_when_ideas_have_sex.html |date=27 February 2014 }}, a video of his [[TED (conference)|TED]] talk
* {{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Russ |title=Ridley on Trade, Growth, and the Rational Optimist |url=http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/matt_ridley/ |work=[[EconTalk]] |publisher=[[Library of Economics and Liberty]] |author-link=Russ Roberts |date=18 October 2010}}

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{{Current British viscounts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Matt}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
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